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National Cooperative Development Corporation has identified our states — Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra for the programme

Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala inaugurated the country’s first-of-its-kind, a dedicated business incubator to be known as LINAC- NCDC Fisheries Business Incubation Centre (LlFlC) in Haryana’s Gurugram costing Rs 3.23 crore to nurture fisheries start-ups under real market-led conditions.

 

Rupala said that the incubation unit will provide handholding such as training, converting entrepreneurial ideas into business models and doling out seed money to the new as well as existing business entrepreneurs keen to make big in the segment.

 

The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), an implementing agency for the LIFIC, has identified the first batch of ten incubators from four states — Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Out of them, six are from newly-created Fish Farmers Producer Organizations with the support of the financial grant under the PMMSY.

 

Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Dr L Murugan enlisted various innovative steps taken for the first time including setting up the fisheries incubation centre under the guidance of the Prime Minister for all-round development of the society.

National Cooperative Development Corporation has identified our

It aims to sensitize farmers involved in the cultivation of Basmati rice in the key growing regions about adoption of good agricultural practices. 

 

 For boosting exports of quality production of aromatic and long grain Basmati rice, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)’ arm Basmati Export Development Foundation (BEDF) has taken innovative steps to sensitize farmers involved in the cultivation of Basmati rice in the key growing regions about adoption of good agricultural practices.

As part of the initiatives, BEDF in collaboration with the rice exporters associations of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Delhi, state agriculture universities and state agriculture departments, organised 75 awareness and training programmes to encourage farmers for growing high-quality Basmati rice in the seven states. BEDF is also involved as technical partner for different FPOs, exporter associations, etc. in Basmati rice growing states.

The BEDF launched awareness-cum-training workshop on July 16, 2021 from Jahangirpur village, Gautam Budh Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh as a part of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, which is an initiative of the Government of India to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of India’s Independence. The awareness campaigns were organised for farmers focussing on the themes of ‘judicious use of pesticides and adoption of good agricultural practices’.

Another objective of the awareness drives were to train the farmers for seed production to resolve the issues of non-availability of seeds of better quality. At the workshop, farmers were trained about different methods to identify insect-pests and diseases of basmati rice and their management. The issues like problems in basmati export and expectations of rice industry were also brought into the notice of growers and exporters during the awareness drive during the entire basmati growing season of 2021. 

A huge number of farmers, exporters, FPOs, etc. turned out to learn about the judicious use of pesticides and adoption of good agricultural practices at the workshops that were organised at 75 different locations in seven states.

In Punjab, 25 awareness and training programmes were organised, followed by 21 in Uttar Pradesh, 17 in Haryana, 05 in Uttarakhand, 03 in Jammu & Kashmir and 02 each in Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. Through the awareness creation programme, farmers were informed that the Basmati rice cultivation is an Indian tradition and it is a collective responsibility to maintain this tradition as there is huge demand for Basmati rice in the global market. The farmers have been requested to get themselves registered on basmati.net through the State Agriculture Department.

 

 

It aims to sensitize farmers involved in

As the world’s leading producers of potatoes, China and India are at the leading frontier of CPB spread as it expands its range eastward

 

Renaissance BioScience Corp’s RNA-based biopesticide technology conducted on Colorado potato beetle (CPB) larvae resulted in 98.3 per cent mortality and greatly reduced the amount of plant damage caused by the beetle.

The proof-of-concept test, conducted by a leading international agriculture consultancy with expertise in pesticide evaluation, applied Renaissance’s proprietary yeast-based RNA interference technology that is designed to precisely target and turn off a specific CPB gene. This, in turn, resulted in high CPB mortality and protected the potato plant. A key characteristic and industrial benefit of the Renaissance novel proprietary RNA production and oral delivery platform technology is that it’s possible to include multiple different gene targets in each cell of the delivery system, thereby greatly reducing or eliminating the potential for CPB to develop resistance to this innovative biopesticide.

The Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) is one of the most economically devastating pests facing potato crops in North America and Mexico, Europe, Russia and Eastern Europe, and in Asia, including in western and northeastern China. As the world’s leading producers of potatoes, China and India are at the leading frontier of CPB spread as it expands its range eastward. The CPB has a legendary ability to develop resistance to a wide range of chemical pesticides previously used in its control and a natural biopesticide solution is urgently needed to greatly reduce the widespread damage and major economic costs caused by this pest.

As the world’s leading producers of potatoes,

Emphasises on potential of agri, small animal husbandry in sustainable livelihood  

Sunil Kedar, Minister of Animal Husbandry & Dairy Development, Government of Maharashtra recently visited the ICAR-Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute, Avikanagar, Rajasthan.

The minister was accompanied by a delegation of the Government of Maharashtra including Dr Shashank Kamble, MD, Maharashtra Sheep and Goat Development Corporation; Dr Shri Mahesh Bansode, Consultant and Jayant Wani, Officer on Special Duty.

Interacting with the scientists, the minister highlighted the strong collaboration with the ICAR-CSWRI for improving the farmers’ remuneration from the small animal sector across the country. The potential of agriculture and small animal husbandry in sustainable livelihood even in the challenging times of COVID-19 was underlined by the minister.

Kedar took a keen interest in Avishan, a prolific breed developed in the institute and artificial insemination technology. He also visited the textile plant, agri-business incubation centre, feed block manufacturing unit and meat processing laboratory of the institute. 

Earlier, welcoming the dignitaries, Dr Arun Kumar Tomar, Director, ICAR-CSWRI, Avikanagar apprised about the institute’s activities and research progress in sheep and goat husbandry.

 

Emphasises on potential of agri, small animal

The minister virtually inaugurated office building, Divisional Office Hubballi in Karnataka and Food Security Museum at Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu 

 

Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, recently inaugurated the office building, Divisional Office Hubballi in Karnataka and Food Security Museum at Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu along with a photo exhibition.

During his address, he congratulated FCI for the inauguration of a new building of the Divisional Office at Hubballi in Karnataka. He said, “It is a step towards realising PM’s vision of creating resilient infrastructure for food security. From being a trade centre for cotton to a centre for food security-Hubballi reflects the growth of a new India.”

Goyal added, “All the agencies under the Dept of Food and Public Distribution has been working tirelessly. Food Corporation of India and Indian Railways have transported record foodgrains in every nook and corner of the country and we have issued 180.83 LMT of foodgrains under PMGKAY free of cost to all the needy people ever since the pandemic started over and above the foodgrain distributed under NFSA.” 

He also congratulated all on the inauguration of the Food Security museum at Thanjavur, showcasing India’s Agri evolution from dependency to self-sufficiency. He said that the Food Security Museum is the first museum in India to depict India’s food security story from a ’ship to mouth’ existence to becoming one of the largest food grain exporting nations. He said that the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu will now be home to the agricultural history of India. 

To augment the infrastructure required for ensuring Food Security, the government’s vision to create adequate storage for foodgrains has resulted in the creation of scientific godowns and modern storage silos. It is an ongoing process for which the agencies like FCI and CWC along with the help of the state government’s storage agencies have been able to create 69 LMT extra storage by effectively utilizing the covered storage space. Besides, the government is also creating modern storage silos in the hub and spoke model for 108 LMT across the country.

Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ashwini Kumar Choubey and Saddhvi Niranjan Jyoti also attended the event.

 

 

 

The minister virtually inaugurated office building, Divisional

The move is likely to revolutionise the dairy Neo Banking space

Digivriddhi Technologies (DGV), a dairy industry-focussed Neo-Banking startup, has raised a $3.1 million Pre-Series-A round from Info Edge Ventures and Omnivore. Through its assisted digital platform, DGV has chosen to focus on India’s 75 million dairy farmers, providing them access to formal banking and world-class financial services.

DGV is currently working with some of India’s leading co-operatives dairy unions, and their respective milk cooperative societies and farmers, by providing them access to payments, liabilities, and asset products through its partnership with Federal Bank. 

Commenting on the investment Ragavan Venkatesan, Founder and CEO, DGV, said, “We are delighted to welcome Info Edge Ventures and Omnivore to lead our first institutional round. Info Edge Ventures’ experience in scaling digital marketplaces, and Omnivore’s deep experience in Agtech, will allow us to create an unmatched full-service platform for Dairy farmers.”

Kitty Agarwal, Partner, Info Edge Ventures, commented, “DGV is building a Neo-banking platform for dairy farmers by digitising the entire payment stack using Aadhaar, National Payment Switch and Micro ATM technology with plans to build various financial products customised to credit, insurance and other needs of these farmers.”

Shalini Warrier, Executive Director & Business Head- Retail, Federal Bank, said, “Under this arrangement, we are providing API Banking services across payments, liabilities, and relevant asset products to Dairy Farmers in Gujarat. DGV’s execution model is unique and aids the re-imagining of financial access to farmers. We intend to replicate this model in other parts of the country, and are confident that this collaboration with DGV, will revolutionise the Dairy Neo Banking space.”

The move is likely to revolutionise the

Bits x Bites focuses on pre-A to Series B companies to boost the startup ecosystem

Bits x Bites, China’s first agrifood tech venture capital fund (VC), has completed the final close of its second fund at US $100M. 

With a focus on the underserved subsegments in the Chinese food supply chain, the Shanghai-based fund has attracted a group of prestigious and vision-aligned backers. New investors include industry leaders from Syngenta Group Ventures to Adisseo, an animal nutrition company, and Cavallo Ventures, the venture capital arm of Wilbur-Ellis, to Esco Lifesciences. They also include government-supported investment arms such as DisruptAD, the venture platform of ADQ, based in Abu Dhabi; and other reputable financial institutions and family offices. Continued support comes from Temasek, a global investment company headquartered in Singapore. 

Since its first close, Bits x Bites has invested in seven new portfolios advancing solutions to address challenges from agricultural input to farm automation to protein alternatives. Four of the new portfolios are Chinese companies. They are:

  • EAVision: agricultural drone company specialized in autonomous crop protection
  • Mojia Bio: A biomanufacturing company producing nutrients for the feed and food industries
  • A stealth mode precision agriculture company that has developed crop simulation models 
  • A stealth mode precision fermentation startup developing microbial protein for dairy and meat alternative applications.

“The appeal of agrifood investing for the Chinese market goes beyond its mammoth role in the global supply chain or its vibrant tech activities in biotech,” says Matilda Ho, founder and managing director, Bits x Bites. “What is often overlooked is this tech ecosystem’s relentless drive toward cost-based innovations, building solutions to fuel efficiency and to make sustainable and healthy ingredient options more affordable. We believe there has never been a better time to be investing in agrifood for China, and we couldn’t be more pleased with our LPs’ support for our strategy.” 

Focusing on pre-A to Series B companies, Bits x Bites annually screens close to 1,200 startups, roughly half of which being local Chinese companies. To support its growing Chinese pipeline and portfolio, the team has added a new senior advisor Liu Shi, Executive Vice President at Chinese agricultural conglomerate Dabeinong Technology Group. 

Bits x Bites focuses on pre-A to

U+ highlights innovative AgTech companies making strides toward more climate-friendly, sustainable food production

U+, a leading global digital innovation company, announced the release of its inaugural list of Top AgTech Innovators to Watch. The list recognises companies across the globe successfully seeking ways to increase and improve sustainable agricultural production practices, including best practices in robotics and automation, indoor vertical farming and livestock wearable sensors.

 

“These innovative companies are reshaping the future of food and agricultural technology by establishing more efficient ways to strengthen the food supply chain,” said U+ CEO and Founder Jan Beránek. “With venture capitalists investing billions of dollars to solve challenges like rising supplier costs, labour shortage and major changes in consumer preferences for more transparency and sustainability, these startup companies are incorporating great technological innovations as solutions to industry needs.”

 

While there are many applications of AgTech, the main aim is growing more food using less space and fewer inputs. Innovations are also saving farmers time and money by focusing on areas like urban farming, robotics and automation of processes, livestock tech, modernised greenhouses, precision agriculture and artificial intelligence training.

 

AgTech innovators to watch include:

 

Iron Ox, US, an autonomous greenhouse development company focussed on sustainable, scalable food production for a changing climate and an ever-growing population. Their hydroponic growing system uses 90 per cent less water than traditional farming while growing 30 times the amount of crops per acre of land.

 

Carbon Book, formerly known as Motorleaf, Canada, is a greenhouse automation technology company providing farmers with accurate automated harvest yield forecasts, enabling farmers to better plan labour, operations and marketing. Carbon Book’s solution also calculates each user’s current carbon footprint and advises them on how to improve it, making their farms more sustainable.

 

The U+ 2021 Top AgTech Innovators to Watch were selected after extensive market research, leveraging databases including CB Insights and Crunchbase. Factors including the number of customers and the amount and date of funds raised were also considered.

 

U+ highlights innovative AgTech companies making strides

Services of the Centre will help boost development of the fisheries business in the country. 

Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Purshottam Rupala will launch the “LINAC-NCDC Fisheries Business Incubation Centre” (LIFIC) on November 16, 2021 at LINAC-NCDC, Plot No-89, Sector-18, Institutional Area in Gurugram, Haryana. Services of the Centre will help augment the development of the fisheries business in India. 

Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, and Information & Broadcasting, Dr L Murugan will also be present on this occasion. LIFIC is being started by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), which is the End Implementation Agency for Cooperatives under the flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) of the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India. The Government aims to boost the fisheries sector in the country as per the vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

 

 

Services of the Centre will help boost

Nationwide AHDF KCC campaign launched for providing Kisan Credit Card facility to all eligible Animal husbandry, Dairy and Fishery farmers 

 As part of Aazadi Ka Amrit Mahostav, Nationwide AHDF KCC campaign officially launched by FAHD Minister Purshottam Rupala through virtual mode. In order to expand the benefit of Kisan Credit Card to all eligible animal husbandry, dairy and fishery farmers in the country, this department, in association with the Department of Fisheries (DOF) and the Department of Financial Services (DFS), is organizing a “Nationwide AHDF KCC Campaign” from 15th November 2021 to 15th February 2022. The circular conveying the detailed guidelines for organizing this campaign has been issued to States on 10th November, 2021.The necessary instructions to banks as well as State Government have also been issued by department of Financial Services.

Livestock sector is crucial to the Indian economy today, comprising one third of the agriculture and allied sector GVA and having over 8 per cent CAGR. At the same time, Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries activities play a significant role in generating farmer income, particularly among the landless, small and marginal farmers and women, besides providing cheap and nutritious food to millions of people. It is need of the hour to provide reverential recognition to landless, small and marginal farmers and women involved in Animal Husbandry activities in the country and meet their institutional credit requirement for working capital needs through KCC so as to tap the potential of the sector and increase employment generation and income.

Nationwide AHDF KCC campaign launched for providing

Posts total income of Rs 443.62 crores in the same quarter

Insecticides (India) Limited (IIL) has posted a net profit of Rs 41.87 crores for the period ended September 30, 2021, as against a net profit of Rs 34.96 crores for the period ended June 30, 2021. The company has posted a net profit of Rs 41.60 crores for the period ended September 30, 2020.

The company has reported a total income of Rs 443.62 crores during the period ended September 30, 2021, as compared to Rs 469.89 crores during the period ended June 30, 2021. The company has reported a total income of Rs 460.89 crores during the period ended September 30, 2020.

During the six months ended September 30, 2021,  the company has reported a total income of Rs 913.51 crores as compared to Rs 871.6207 crores during the 6 months ended September 30, 2020.

The company has posted a net profit of Rs 76.83 crores for the six months ended September 30, 2021, as against a net profit of Rs.65.97 crores for the 6 months ended September 30, 2020.

Posts total income of Rs 443.62 crores

The MoU will enable the development of programmes for cooperation in the areas of faculty support for training programmes conducted by both the organisations

The ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the NCDEX Institute of Commodity Markets and Research (NICR), Mumbai.

 

Dr Srinivasa Rao, Director, ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad and Aleen Mukherjee, COO, NICR signed the MoU on the behalf of their respective organisations.

 

In his address, Dr Rao outlined the main objective of the MoU to enable the development of programmes for cooperation in the areas of faculty support for training programmes conducted by both the organisations; Research and consultancy; Exchange of information and expertise; Training of trainers based on reciprocity and mutual benefits.

 

Dr G Venkateshwarlu, Joint Director, ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad stated that the MoU provides an overarching framework for collaboration in the various areas and the role of NCDEX in commodity markets.

 

The senior officials of both the organisations were present during the occasion.

 

The MoU will enable the development of

Dr QU Dongyu’s address will take place on the final day of the live global event

Dr QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, will be this year’s keynote speaker at Bayer’s 2021 Youth Ag Summit. Leading FAO since August 2019, Dr QU has been implementing his vision that agri-food systems must be transformed to become more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable. This is vital to achieving the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind.

 

The summit’s overall theme, “Feeding a Hungry Planet,” is based on the United Nations’ prediction that the planet’s population will reach 9.7 billion people by 2050 and will be faced with food security challenges.

 

Dr QU’s address will take place on the final day of the live global event. The Youth Ag Summit will have a full agenda and links available at www.youthagsummit.com with options to view live broadcasts throughout the summit, as well as session recordings after the event. 

 

 “These young people have the creativity and commitment needed to help feed a growing population without starving the world,” said Liam Condon, member of the board of Management of Bayer and President of the Crop Science Division. “Hearing directly from the head of the FAO, Dr QU, about his passion for making the world hunger-free is incredibly inspirational for these next-generation leaders.” 

 

As an official global partner with Bayer for this year’s forum, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), in partnership with technology company Babele, will also provide a virtual idea incubator called YAS University where delegates will continue to learn entrepreneurship and leadership skills, receive coaching from mentors, and improve their project concepts throughout 10 weeks following the November summit. 

 

 

 

Dr QU Dongyu’s address will take place

Agriculture is a crucial part of the Indian economy. The world’s population is rapidly growing and so is the demand for food. At the same time traditional farming methods are not adequate to feed over a billion Indians. This challenge necessitates a smart solution. As a result of this realisation, agribusinesses are embracing the implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) in agriculture. According to a recent analysis by Reports and Data, the value of IoT in the agricultural market is predicted to reach $30.8 billion in 2028, exhibiting a CAGR of 10.6 per cent over the forecast period. We shall examine the impact of technology in reshaping of agri-financing.

The implementation of AI and IoT technologies not only applies to agriculture in terms of crops and inputs but to agri-financing, too. While it may not be easy to view it this way, we must keep in mind that farmers are entrepreneurs too. They run a business that is constantly in demand and requires direction, strategy, and understanding of various aspects such as the crops and soil.  Finally all these endeavours require financing.  Unfortunately, providing credit to farmers has continued to remain a major challenge primarily due to the risk factors involved. Agritech startups today are committed to enabling farmers to build a better life for themselves by leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as AI and IoT. 

Agri-financing: The key to farmer growth 

Agriculture, like any other industry, relies on consistent and adequate financial support to thrive. While farmers contribute to a large chunk of the country’s GDP and economy, they, unfortunately, remain some of the most underserved communities facing multiple challenges due to a lack of infrastructure and inadequate financing. To solve this issue and bridge the gap between farmers and resources, the Agritech industry is leveraging AI and IoT-enabled technologies to ensure farmers have access to sound credit facilities. 

Agri financing plays a critical role in assisting farmers in purchasing inputs, preparing and managing land, obtaining better farm equipment and machinery, and overall achieving a good crop yield. Now, although both the state and central governments have actively taken measures to ensure credit is available to farmers, on a larger, practical scale, most of it either doesn’t reach the farmers, or the processes in banks and other formal institutions are too tedious. 

Assessment of farmers and other agri ecosystem participants

With novel technologies, Agritech firms can efficiently assess the creditworthiness before lending and make the process hassle-free. Agritech firms enable all important stakeholders to connect on a single, centralised platform backed by advanced technologies such as AI and IoT, making the fragmented process of agri-lending easier for both financial institutions and farmers. Thus, these innovative technologies are not just benefiting agri-finance but also the entire agribusiness.

Technology is opening up newer datasets which are enabling new methods for credit assessment. Traditionally the challenge has been to assess borrowers in the Agriculture sector because of the seasonal nature of earnings and variability. Coupled with lack of data about the agriculture scenario this used to make the sector highly risk prone. Digital interventions in the farming lifecycle generate newer datasets which are opening up new avenues of credit assessment.

Novel methods of service delivery

There are new methods of delivery arising out of the digital penetration of services. These AI enabled services provide the contextual and low cost delivery mechanism for fintech products and services. Tech platforms bring down the servicing cost to minimal leading to smaller value loans being offered and repaid digitally.

Risk Reduction in farming by reducing variability

Apart from this, AI and IoT-led technologies assist in making farming more sustainable, productive, and profitable, overall augmenting agricultural productivity. 

Monitoring crops and soil 

Using various IoT early warnings of potential crop failures can be generated. This helps the farmer make relevant decisions in the right time reducing the risks associated with farming. Early warnings also help the farmers in improving the quality and quantity of output

Predictive analytics

The weather undoubtedly influences crop productivity. AI offers a variety of tools for predicting changes in weather patterns and assists farmers in keeping abreast with weather forecasting data in a sophisticated way. It enables the creation of seasonal forecasting models for improved agricultural accuracy and production. The farmer can take precautions by knowing and making critical decisions about planting and harvesting, thanks to the data analysis. Implementing such a method allows farmers to make better decisions at the right moment, resulting in higher yields and revenues without jeopardising the crops.

Helps to Maximising output

The use of AI aids in the best crop selection and also helps in the selection of hybrid seed options that are best suited to the needs of farmers. It was implemented after observing how seeds react to various weather and soil conditions. The collected information helps to reduce the chances of plant diseases. It enables the farmers to meet the market trends, yearly outcomes, consumer needs, thus maximising agricultural returns cost-effectively.

Positive transformation

The combination of AI and IoT is altering agriculture’s traditional pattern, allowing it to enter the digital age. It is assisting farmers in gaining access to markets, inputs, data, advisory, and credit, as well as delivering timely and accurate data combined with analytics to help establish a robust demand-driven, efficient supply chain. The use of these technologies is becoming a tool for averting ecosystem devastation by reducing the use of soil-depleting fertilisers, as well as empowering impoverished farmers to grow their income through agri-finance.

 

Agriculture is a crucial part of the